The Adventure of the Magic Flute
by ewace246
Summary: Sequel to 12 Paternoster Row
1. Chapter 1

The shower began to turn into a deluge and I grinned. At the window, I watched the downpour and the wind torment the trees. The branches would sway and shake and occasionally the thunder would roar. While I have never sincerely wished harm on anyone, I could not deny that there was something I found intriguing in the storm's power of destruction.

Another boom sounded and I let out a soft laugh of satisfaction, but I froze when I saw the frantic woman running about outside. Immediately, I flung open my door and ran out to her holding my coat above our heads.

"Madame, you must come inside," I insisted, "this rain is horrendous."

"Not until I find help for Nathaniel," she glanced around once more. "Do you perchance know which one of these houses belongs to the Great Detective?"

"I believe I do," I had to shout over the rain. I led her to my neighbors' house and used the knocker on the door. As we waited, I continued to speak, "my name is Thomas." As this woman was a stranger to me, I was caught with uncertainty whether to entrust her with my full name. In addition, I was afraid that I might be interrupted and I did not want another woman believing my surname to be Andrew.

"Maria," she replied. For the first time, she looked directly at me. Her eyes were as blue as a clear sky, with small amounts of yellow peeking out from behind her black pupils, like two solar eclipses. As the door opened, the light caught the droplets of rain in her dark hair. The reflection was so bright and her hair so dark that when I looked at her hair, I saw the stars gleaming in the night sky.

I turned to the potato and relayed the woman's message; as much of it as I could anyway.

"This woman must to speak to Madame Vastra immediately. A boy requires assistance."


	2. Chapter 2

"Start from the beginning," Madame Vastra instructed. She had allowed me to stay, on the condition that I would write down all the important facts of the case.

"My brother entrusted me with his children while he and his wife went on holiday. He has three children: Arthur, Ester, and Nathaniel. Please, you've got to help me; he's only six and-"

"What happened, Miss Lockwood?" the detective interjected.

"You see, Nathaniel's the sort that likes to wander off. I took the children to the museum, and he snuck away from me. Now I tried to find him; I sent his older brother out to look for him and I was looking for him too with his sister. Finally, once we found Nathaniel, he was lying on the ground outside the Exhibit for Egyptian Artifacts. No matter what we tried, he wouldn't wake. And that was yesterday morning. He still won't stir, but other than that, he is completely fine. He has no visible wounds, he doesn't have a temperature, and he doesn't show any other sign of sickness, except that he still will not wake. I don't know what to do. I promised Ethan that I would look after his children. I said no harm would come to them. You've got to help me."

"I will do whatever it takes to make you happy again," I told the lady. Evidently, I had become so absorbed in her words that I forgot that they were not directed towards me.

"Thomas Andrew," Madame Vastra started, "why don't you go with Maria and Strax to see the boy? Jenny and I will have a look at this Exhibit."

"You will come see Nathaniel too, I presume?" I inquired.

"Strax is a nurse and you are a writer. Why would you need me? I trust you will do an adequate job examining the boy. If not, then I will come."


	3. Chapter 3

As we accompanied Maria Lockwood to her place of residence, I began to notice the signs of stress this experience was having on this young woman. Her fingers would not stay still, and the extent to which her eyes would open gave me some insight as to the amount of sleep she received herself. Despite all of this, and the fact that we were being driven by a potato/man, she seemed much more relaxed in our carriage ride and for a few moments even rested her head upon my shoulder, perchance to sleep.

When we arrived at our destination and observed the poor boy, he was just as Maria said, in some kind of enchanted sleep. I briefly wondered why we came here, if only to observe what we already know, but then Strax pulled out what he called 'medical instruments.'

When I met Strax, I figured that was not very bright, to say the least, but as I watched him work with various tools and scanning systems, I began to wonder if I might have misjudged him.

"Will that make him wake up?" the girl, Ester, asked Strax as he placed a black object over the boy's chest.

"I am measuring his heartrate, trying to bring him to consciousness, boy," he told her. Upset, Ester ran out of the room, and Maria followed her.

"His heartbeat registers at 45 beats per minute, which is low for a child, even as a resting heart rate. His reflexes seem normal. No broken bones or internal bleeding. There's something not right with his ears, however." He pulled out a large instrument about the length of my forearm. The tip shone with blue light.

"That was a girl, Strax, not a boy," I instructed him. "You upset her."

"This conversation is not crucial to our mission. How you humans classify yourselves is of very little importance." He proceded to point the tip of the instrument in the boy's left ear. Surprisingly, blue light streamed out of his other ear and lit up the wall. He fiddled with a few more buttons that made interesting sounds. With each noise, the light shrunk slightly and grew back to its original size.

Finally, Strax spoke again.

"He is under a soporific spell, possibly a charm or curse."

"Don't be so daft," I told him. Ignoring me, he began to pack up his things. I went to see Maria.

"I apologize for my companion's behavior. He can be ever so rude sometimes."

"I'm more worried about Nathaniel than Ester at the moment."

"I will give you my oath that I will not rest until your boy wakes," I grasped her cold hands in mine.

"That's very kind, but you will not be of much assistance without your rest."

"Then take my watch," I told her, reaching into my pocket to bring it out.

"It's beautiful," she exclaimed, "but why are you giving me your watch?"

"When my uncle left to fight a war, he entrusted me with his watch. He explained that it was very special to him and he needed someone to look after it while he was gone. It is one of my most prized possessions, but I will let you hold onto it for me until Nathaniel is well again."

"Thank you Thomas," she smiled at me and her eyes lit up like gemstones, far brighter than the golden springs or gears tipped with rubies on my uncle's timepiece.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: While the correct roman numeral form of 4 is iv, on clocks that use roman numerals, four is written as iiii.**

I returned to find the detective sitting quietly in her study. Her expression was cold and solemn. She was staring at a piece of silver peeking out from beneath her scaly fingers. For a few moments, I stood in the doorway, unsure whether to speak.

"Where is Jenny?" I asked. I had not seen her anywhere in the house. She ignored my question.

"We found the cause of Nathaniel's slumber," she gravely stated, opening her hands so that I could see the broken flute in her hand.

"This broken musical instrument has the power to take consciousness away?" it did not seem possible.

"Not in this condition," she replied. "I broke it. I tried to save Jenny from his enchantment, but it was too late. I would have killed that heinous criminal behind this, but I do not know how to bring them back."

"You're all mad." She glared at me with green eyes of hatred.

"I have no patience for ignorant infidels. If you will not contribute to the solution, then you have no business here."

"But-" I protested.

"My wife is dead to the world and my thirst for blood is still unsatisfied. For you own safety, I suggest you leave before I lose my temper. See if you can get any more information out of our Pied Piper."

"His name is Johnathan Castille," Inspector Gregson told me. "He is a skilled musician, but…" he trailed off. We were walking through a dark and damp corridor filled with locked doors and prison cells.

"That alone shouldn't have this power of enchanted sleep," I finished. Inspector Gregson took out a key and opened one of the doors. Inside the room was another cell, and inside the cell was Johnathan Castille. I briefly wondered why he had to be contained in both a locked room and a prison cell.

"Thomas," the prisoner whispered. I took a step closer. Gregson stepped out of the room and locked me inside.

"Did Madame Vastra tell you my name?"

"I was hoping you would come to see me." He completely ignored my question, like the arrogant criminal he was. "I need my flute."

"You must really be bonkers if you think I would give that to you."

"I can save Nathaniel."

"What?" I asked.

"I don't need the boy. You can have him back. I'm sure his aunt would even give you a kiss of gratitude. But first I need my flute."

"It's broken" I told him. His expression did not even waver.

"Then bring me another flute."

"I thought you needed your 'magic' flute."

"It's not the instrument; it's the song. An ancient and powerful song…" he trailed off.


End file.
